Facebook

I would like to comment on the phenomenon that is sweeping USF and other colleges nationwide: www.TheFacebook.com. Facebook is an online directory where anyone with a college email account can create a profile by which others who go to their college or went to their high school can access them. You can “friend” a person and their profile will be stored on your database of “friends” who you shared third period algebra with but never really knew. You can indicate to your friends that you’re single and dating or in a solid relationship and content, simply by having a “relationship” connection with your loved one through their profile. There are groups that people join for the sake of belonging to these groups so that perhaps an old friend will notice that you like going to the beach or are in a committed relationship, all by reading the names of the groups you belong to. Groups about Greek life, groups about political affiliation, television shows, and even groups about (surprise surprise) drinking populate the profiles of thousands of co-eds nationally. It’s an interesting idea: now you can reconnect with friends you haven’t seen since the ninth grade, and learn what they are doing with their young adult lives. All you have to do is search your high school or neighboring high schools to locate long lost friends. Sometimes friends surprise you: a girl I knew as shy and studious in high school apparently is a happy lesbian now in college. The guy who attends West Point is a country music fan, as indicated by his group “I Love Country Music”. On the other hand, sometimes you don’t want to be found by these people who seek you. There are those individuals you lost touch with for a reason.